This invention concerns safety arrangements for vehicles having a cushion inflatable by a gas generator.
As a result of increasing safety requirements, greater attention has recently been given to the occurrence of vehicle accidents involving side collisions. In collisions involving the side of a vehicle, the distance between the point of collision and a passenger to be protected is very small, so that a device for protecting passengers in such collisions must be highly effective. In this connection, air bag arrangements which are mounted in the vicinity of the side of a vehicle, either in the vehicle structure itself or else in a seat accommodating vehicle passengers, have received particular attention. In German Offenlegungsschift Nos. 42 04 280 and 42 10 562, and in the prior art mentioned therein, air bag arrangements are described which are not limited to any particular type of seat, and thus may be equally useful in front seats and back seats. These prior art references, however, do not disclose any application of the arrangements therein to the back seat of a vehicle.
The problems relating to the protection of passengers in the rear of a motor vehicle are discussed in detail in German Gebrauchsmuster Nos. 91 11 206 and 92 02 725. Those references disclose generic cushions for air bag devices which are arranged in the shoulder and head regions of back rests. Hence, these arrangements are capable of protecting only the upper part of the body. No protection is provided for the chest and hip regions of passengers sitting in the rear seat of a vehicle.